Influence: The A-Hole False Binary

Sometimes you can undermine being cast in a potentially negative light by leaning into the negative stereotype so much that it becomes silly.

For example, let’s imagine you’re picking up a woman for a date. You drive a nice Mercedes. The car gives off rich-asshole vibes.

She enters the car and says, “Ooh-la-la… a Mercedes. Well, aren’t you special?”

You could deflect that and be like, “I know what it looks like. But no. This car was my uncle’s. He died unexpectedly and left it to me. I feel a little awkward even driving it. It’s not my vibe at all, but it’s a beautiful car.”

That’s fine. But you can also lean into the stereotype.

“Oh, this old thing? This is just my beater I use for running errands. It drives… alright, I guess. But mainly I just need something with the horsepower and engine thrust to drive over these darned homeless people crowding our city street!!”

Something like that will let the other person know you have some self-awareness and probably aren’t the stereotype they might assume you to be.

You can use this technique with magic and mentalism as well.

The danger with mind-reading/influence types of presentations is that you run the risk of someone who wants to be seen as very “powerful” in some way.

So if you embrace that to a silly level, that subtly suggests, “Yes, I know how this looks. And no, I’m not intending you to take this too seriously.”

Here’s a little line you can use to fully take on the megalomaniacal mentalist persona with an influence effect. In this case, the line works better if there is only one subtle influence cue lying around.

So let’s say I have you touch the back of any card in the deck. You get the 10 of Hearts. I open the prediction that has been on the table the whole time, it’s the 10 of Hearts. “My awesome powers have come through again!”

Your friend might laugh at that. Whether they do or not, you just look at them and say, “Do you not believe me? That the incredible power of my mind knew the card you were going to take before you took it? Well… maybe you’re right. Maybe it wasn’t my mind power that allowed me to know this. Maybe it’s just… well… see that card case over here? The one I placed in your line of sight when you were looking at the deck and then freely touching one of the cards? What card is on the back of that box? Perhaps you’re so persuadable that you saw that card in your periphery and it influenced you to touch that card when I gave you the option of any card in the deck. Maybe that’s what happened. Now you’re free to consider your options…

“Is my mind so powerful that I could predict the card that you would freely choose? Or is your mind so feeble, weak, and easily directed that just getting a glimpse of a card in the distance compelled you to pick that card? It’s your choice, I guess.”

Now, this is a somewhat advanced social interaction. You have to be able to deliver this line with such confidence that it’s clear you’re joking. And it’s a line that won’t work if you have been trying to use your magic as a demonstration of power in the past. But if you have a good relationship with the person you’re performing for, and they know you to be a chill person, they'll take the line in the spirit it’s intended and enjoy this false logic “trap” you’ve set for them.